In the past few years, microtransactions have been becoming commonplace in the video game industry. Microtransactions are the small in-game purchases you can make, using real money, for certain upgrades and unlockable items.

In the beginning microtransactions were mainly for additional downloadable content, or DLC, which added on extra content to already complete games, but in recent years it has become more common for it to seem like they are charging you extra just to get the complete game. It’s ridiculous to charge consumers $60 for an incomplete game and then expect them to make several in-game purchases to get the full experience.

Games found on consoles and PC’s are not alone on this, as pretty much all popular mobile games are chock full of microtransactions as well. With the amount of young children who play mobile games, this also creates a problem of kids who don’t know any better wasting their parents money on all the in-app purchases that they can easily make with the tap of a button.

I can understand microtransactions for cosmetic items that only affect a player’s appearance, but having them for things that affect gameplay in online games is unfair, as it puts players who can buy them at an advantage. This not only puts a damper on user experience, but also the competitive scene of the game, as not everyone who plays the game is on a level playing field.

Gamers are not the only people who have voiced opposition to microtransactions, some governments have as well. The government of Belgium, as well as the state government of Hawaii, as well as the governments of multiple other states and nations, have proposed banning loot crates from video games, as they consider them a form of gambling. Loot crates are a popular new trend in games, where players receive crates which hold a random assortment of prizes. Players can purchase these loot crates through microtransactions, leading to the comparisons to gambling that these governments have made.

It’s understandable where the governments of Belgium and Hawaii are coming from, though an all out ban may be a bit much. Rather than that, hopefully consumers will send a message to greedy game companies by choosing not to waste their money on games with little substance that are packed with unfair microtransactions. Then, hopefully, game companies will realize that in order to turn a profit they need to make games that offer complete experiences and fair online multiplayer to players without forcing them to purchase microtransactions.